Recipe: Moqueca Capixaba, Brazilian Fish Stew

A Hearty Stew That Can Be Enjoyed Year-Round

This recipe is by Mara Salles, owner-chef of Tordesilhas restaurant in São Paulo, serving contemporary Brazilian cuisine. This hearty fish stew has an Indian influence, and includes annatto seeds for a deep, red color (more about them below). While you’ll need annatto powder for this recipe, if you don’t have malagueta pepper or manioc, traditional Brazilian ingredients, you can substitute comparable ones.

Season the fish with salt, lemon and peppers. In a clay pan, heat the annatto oil and fry the garlic.

Cover the bottom of the pan with the fish slices, add the chopped tomato and onion and pour in the water. Drizzle over a small amount of annatto oil.

Cover and boil over a medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, making sure that the vegetables remain whole and firm. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve the dish while still piping hot.

To Make The Annatto Oil

Heat the olive oil mixed with annatto seeds in a pan or frying pan, and stir until the oil takes on a reddish tinge.

To Make The Fish Purée

Season the fish with salt, lemon and black pepper. Fry the garlic in olive oil, then the tomatoes, pepper and onion. When cooked, add the annatto oil.

Add the fish and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the water and bunch of cilantro, parsley and green onion. Cook until the liquid is reduced to approximately 1 quart.

Strain the mixture, then place back on the heat, and adjust the seasoning with salt and malagueta pepper. When the mixture boils, add sufficient manioc flour so that it attains the consistency of a purée.

Information About The Ingredients

Annatto. Annatto, also called urucum, is a derivative of the achiote trees found in tropical regions of the Americas. It is commonly found in Latin American and Caribbean cuisines as a coloring agent and for flavoring. The indigenous peoples of Central and South America used the seeds to make body paint and lipstick. In Brazil, powdered annatto is known as colorau and is used as red food coloring.
They can be found at any spice store or Latin food market. The seeds in the photo are available from FrontierHerb.com.

Dedo de Moça Pepper. Dedo de moça, or young lady’s finger, is the popular name for Capsicum baccatum var. pendulum, or Brazilian aji. The plant bearing very small and very hot oblong red chile peppers. The term includes wild forms native to tropical America, which are thought to be the forerunner of today’s sweet pepper and many hot peppers.
Brazilians cook with some very hot chiles: When making this recipe, substitute peppers at the heat level that you are comfortable with.